The operation of filling plants for filling drinks, such as mineral water, juices or beer, or foods into containers such as bottles, beer barrels or the like, is subject to stringent regulations under the law on foodstuffs. In this connection, an essential aspect is the cleanness of the plant and of the containers. Where filling takes place into reusable containers, e.g. into already used returnable drinks bottles, these must be intensively cleaned. Appropriate washing devices are commercially available in a multiplicity of designs, and are not affected by the present invention.
Likewise, at specified intervals, in particular after completion of a filling period, it is necessary to clean most intensively the filling plant, namely the filler from which the containers are filled, and specifically from the inside as well as from the outside, as well as the conveying device for the containers to and from the filler, which device is also designated as a conveyor. In this case, these cleaning operations are carried out in or on the filling plant itself, without there being any requirement to undertake noteworthy alterations thereof for the purposes of cleaning. In this case, the cleaning solutions, including rinsing solutions, are moved past the surfaces to be cleaned by means of pumps, or are sprayed on via suitable spray units (heads). This type of cleaning has become known as CIP cleaning (cleaning in place).
Accordingly, in terms of plant engineering, filling plants are provided with the devices necessary for the cleaning operations, which devices are an integral component of the filling plant.
Parts of such CIP cleaning plants are described, for example, in DE 195 08 357 A1, DE 44 34 407 A1 and in general terms in the handbook of CIP cleaning published by the applicant.
According to the prior art, a filling plant typically possesses four cleaning systems in four different parts of the plant, namely a
filler CIP plant for the internal cleaning of the filler PA1 conveyor CIP plant for cleaning the conveying device, on which the containers are conveyed to and from the filling station PA1 filler external cleaning for cleaning a major part of the external surfaces of the filler, and a PA1 hot water flooding for cleaning specific parts of the filler exterior using hot water. PA1 fresh water lead containers with the function of mains water separation and to make sufficient fresh water available for fresh water rinsing. In addition, in the case of closed cleaning systems they serve as stretch and venting containers, PA1 storage containers, where cleaning fluid or rinsing water is stored for the purpose of reuse, PA1 a heating station to heat the cleaning solutions and to generate hot water, typically in the form of a concentrating tube heat exchanger heated by means of steam or hot water, PA1 a dosing station with dosing pumps to dose the respective cleaning solution as well as to reapply stored solutions. PA1 rotary valves flap for the energization and deenergization of plant components, PA1 lead and return pumps to construct a cleaning circuit, PA1 pipeline systems for the cleaning lead and return, PA1 spray units/spray heads, in particular permanently built in, non-rotating low pressure spray heads, PA1 measuring and regulating systems to ensure reproducible cleaning sequences depending upon the degree of automation, e.g. flow meters for regulating the quantity of fresh water, thermometers, pressure measuring devices, etc., and PA1 an electrical control/regulating system, in particular in the form of stored-programme-controllable, service-friendly control systems, possibly in conjunction with process data acquisition for the documentation of the cleaning sequences. PA1 within a common central cleaning circuit a common supply station comprising the components PA1 a programme control system, which possesses programme parts both for a sequential and also for a partially parallel activation of the partial cleaning systems, and PA1 a common partial line system.
Typically, CIP systems consist of:
The plant systems form, so to speak, the supply station.
A CIP plant further includes:
With respect to the "filler external cleaning" and "hot water flooding" parts of the plant, there are further added the necessary plant components.
According to the prior art, all cleaning plants for a filling plant are equipped in each instance with their own supply stations and different application-engineering components, as well as with separate control systems. Accordingly, in the known case the expenditure on equipment for cleaning a complete filling plant is relatively great. In addition, with regard to application engineering the design of plants is relatively costly and complex because it has to be aimed at the respective filling plant.
Furthermore, with regard to process engineering the control of the sequences is complex by reason of the necessary coupling of the cleaning systems. Since each partial plant has microbiological effectiveness only for itself, there is no closed microbiological coverage of the entire region. The object of the invention is to refine the initially designated plant for cleaning a filling plant in such a way that the expenditure on equipment can be kept small and, in terms of process engineering, the plants can be operated in a better fashion, and also, in terms of microbiology, no "gaps in the cleaning" occur.